Bee Swarms Are Led By 'Pied Pipers'

BBC :

By buzzing a "piping" signal the bees are able to initiate an explosive departure from the hive.

Bees are known to use signals to tell the colony when to swarm but which bees had the power to make this decision was unclear.

Now scientists have identified a small oligarchy of individual bees that hold the key to swarm behaviour.

Read the whole story: BBC

Comments

[Iowafarmgal]

01:51 AM on 03/16/2010

I used to ride my horse and check cattle in an apple orchard that a huge mobile beehive. It was awesome! The bee's would swarm right over the top of my horse and sometimes fly right around my head but they never bothered me. I didn't go out of my way to socialize with them but I could ride right by their hive and they wouldn't do a thing. Best honey you've ever tasted!

[Tom95134]

01:33 PM on 03/15/2010

"The sudden departure of bees has been known about for centuries and bee keepers have even found ways to avoid it happening and avoid loosing valuable bees."

Could this preventing of swarming be at the core of why bee colonies are dying out?

[blueskybigstar]

02:48 PM on 03/15/2010

Could be. Funny. Bees in the cities are doing quite well. I have noticed that more bees are making their hives on the outside of trees and building rather than enclosed environments. Many plants actually have poison in their flowers. We are breeding many plants to be poisonous to insects, plants that bees visit. There is that mite that is also bothering them. If they stay in one place, and don't leave infected areas, then this could also damage them. This flight might be integral in keeping healthy colonies. Many other insects have been mysteriously dying. Both swallows and bats have been dying from mysterious maladies as well. I think much of it has to do with the Frankenfoods that we are growing in agriculture.